What The Heart Wants
by Aspect
Summary: Kate and Jack meet through different circumstances, the Island never happened, definitely a Jate story although there will be other cast appearances.
1. What The Heart Wants

**This is my first Lost story, an AU because I need a break from the mythology and complication of the show at the moment, that being said YAY for all of the Jate moments recently :D!! **

**Summary: Kate and Jack meet through different circumstances, the Island never happened, definitely a Jate story although there will be other cast appearances. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm too poor so please don't sue me ;) **

**If you like it PLEASE review, there's no motivation to write if you feel that nobody is reading your work. **

**What the Heart Wants**

Kate sighed as she ran her hand across her forehead, massaging it lightly trying to stave off the impending headache she knew would plague her for the rest of the day. She glanced at the digital numbers in the right hand corner of her computer monitor…20 minutes until her lunch break, it couldn't come soon enough. She set about completing some mundane tasks to waste time, re-organized her desk, re-read her e-mail, wrote herself a little reminder to pick up some cat food on the way home…

She jumped when the shrill tone of her desk phone filled the room and cursed the caller on the other end, why did they have to call exactly 1 minute before she was due to finish?

"Good Afternoon, Los Angeles Architecture, how may I help you?" she spoke with the expertise of answering thousands of phone calls in this manner.

"Hello, Am I speaking to Miss K. Austen?" she perked up when she herd his voice, it was strong and direct, it made a nice change from the bumbling idiots she usually got on the phone who didn't have any clue what to say, and really why they were calling…

"Speaking, how can I help?" she repeated

"I was wondering if you would be interested in a new project. I found your details on the company website and was impressed with your portfolio, I'd really appreciate it if we could perhaps meet to discuss what I have in mind?" he asked his tone was more friendly than before, she couldn't help but feel like she should accept his offer with minimal questions asked.

"Of course, what kind of project are we talking about?" she asked, ideas already racing through her mind…

"I must warn you it's rather a large undertaking; we have a budget of $500 million dollars to build a new state of the art hospital to replace St. Sebastian's" he spoke enthusiastically.

Kate's eyes nearly popped out of her head; sure she'd designed her fair share of commercial buildings in the past, but nothing of this magnitude, infact that was more Ana's forte…Ana who for the past four years had made her life a living hell, with a smirk she abruptly answered him.

"It would be my pleasure, I'm free for the rest of the day if you have time, if not we can schedule an appointment Mr….?"

"It's Dr. Shepard, and let me just check my schedule" she frowned slightly, usually it was the director of a company who enquired about her line of work, maybe he owned the hospital aswell?

"Of course" she answered, grabbing a pen from the wire mesh holder on her desk ready to scribble down the details. She waited patiently as she herd him instruct someone to cancel his 3 o'clock and re-schedule it. She smiled when she herd him coming back to the phone.

"Would 3 o'clock be convenient for you?" he asked politely

"Yes, that's fine, where am I meeting you?" she replied eagerly.

"St. Sebastian's Hospital, I'm on the 5th floor, if you ask the lady at reception to direct you to Christian Sheppard's office she'll take you to me" he instructed. She scribbled some things down quickly and smiled.

"Great, I look forward to meeting you Dr. Shepard"

"You too Miss Austen, take care" he said kindly.

She put the phone down gently; her mood greatly improved and grabbed her purse and cell phone before walking purposefully out of her office head held high. She didn't miss the scowl Ana gave her from across the room when she saw Kate emerge victorious, she'd listened in on the call, Kate would have been stupid not to recognise the tell tale echoing in the background…She chuckled slightly and waved to Ana a shit eating grin on her face…well it was nothing more than she deserved for stealing Kate's last project from her.

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Kate took a deep breath and checked herself in the mirror of the elevator, smoothing the waves of her hair down and straightening the black tank top she wore underneath a sheer sleeveless blouse ending exactly where the waistband of her black dress pants started. Summer was just beginning and she was already thankful for the air conditioning cooling her overheated skin, it was going to be a hot one this year.

The ping signifying she had reached the 5th floor snapped her from her thoughts; this is it she thought to herself as she strode confidently from the lift and straight towards the awaiting reception area.

A slightly overweight middle aged woman with golden blonde hair twisted into a neat bun sat typing furiously at a keyboard before looking up at her. Her smile was warm and Kate found herself returning it before she spoke

"Hello, I'm here to see Dr. Christian Shepard?" The woman's face took on one of recognition and surprise…

"Ooo you must be Miss. Austen?" Kate smiled and nodded waiting for her as she rounded the desk and ushered her towards the door behind her.

"Right this way" she instructed.

"Thank you" Kate said as she walked through the door that was being held open for her. They walked down a long hallway with a rich wooden panelling before reaching a door on the right. A man with grey hair looked up when the door opened and immediately stood rounding his own desk to greet them.

"Ah, Miss Austen, pleasure to meet you" he said holding out his hand for her to shake; she took it giving him a firm shake in response.

"Dr. Shepard" she acknowledged with a polite smile.

"Please" he motioned to a seat in front of his desk "Have a seat"

"Thank you"

He rounded his desk and took a seat, clasping his hands in front of him in a distinctly business-like manner. His office was nicely decorated, the walls were rich, a deep chocolate brown colour, the carpet light….behind him an entire wall of glass allowing him to overlook the city below…she liked it.

"What sort of hospital are we talking about In terms of size? Do we have a site yet, or will this one be knocked down and replaced?" she began at once, Christian laughed slightly.

"You don't waste any time I see" he said good-naturedly, opening his drawer and taking out a file he had prepared for her.

"Sorry" she replied nervously "It's just a really interesting project, I've never undertaken anything quite as….large before, I need as much information as I can get" she laughed slightly a small blush creeping across her cheeks. Maybe she shouldn't have said that? He might decide that she's not experienced enough for the job.

"No, no it's fine, here… this should cover the basics, we're a privately owned Hospital, the Director and I have each invested the money into the project with revenue from past years….aswell as some from our pockets. We've brought an area that's about to be demolished, after the new hospital is built this site will be sold and demolished, which will also contribute to the budget" he spoke confidently.

She nodded impressed with how well thought out the project was already and took the file immediately opening it to look through the details inside…she scanned through it quickly, there was a list of all the facilities that would need to be included, the number of private patient rooms, the number of beds that needed to fit into the ER, the number of offices, the number of operation theatres ect.

"This is really great" she said impressed "I'll draw up some ideas, work with what I have here and send them to you in the next 2 weeks?" she asked still reading through the file.

Christian smiled, he liked her attitude, in truth she was the third architect he'd met with about the project, and he was convinced she was the right one for the job. He'd seen a few different ideas from the others and if he was honest, he'd hated them. They were too sterile, too boxed minded, they looked too much like everything else in the city, more like skyscrapers than a Hospital.

The silence was abruptly broken when his office door was flung open a disgruntled looking man bursting through the door only to stop in his tracks when he realised he'd interrupted a meeting. Kate looked up, her breath catching in her throat….he was…gorgeous, his eyes immediately met hers and she felt a jolt of electricity run through her body.

"Uhhh, sorry…I didn't know you'd have company" he mumbled never taking his eyes of Kate. Christian shook his head, dismissing his apology.

"It's fine, Kate this is my son Jack" he spoke nodding towards him, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she should have acknowledged his comment, but instead she was stuck starring wide eyed at him…

"Jack this is Kate, she'll be our architect for the new Hospital" he continued oblivious to their exchange. He blinked when he herd his Father address him, somewhat snapping him out of the intense gaze he held with the brunette sitting a mere metre in-front of him, he stuck his free hand out on a whim and smiled warmly at her.

"Hey" it was simple, and quiet, but it still sent shivers down her spine and caused her insides to go slightly warm and fuzzy. She flung her right hand out to him; his hands were softer than she'd expected them to be, soft and warm…

"Hi" she replied breathlessly, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of her lips, their hands lingered to the point where it would no longer be considered a polite greeting, they seemed to realise as they sheepishly let go of each other and averted their eyes. A glint caught Kate's eye and it was only then that she noticed the silver band situated on his ring finger. It was entirely foolish, but in that moment, she felt as if she'd been sucker-punched.

"Erm, I'll come back later, it was nice meeting you Kate" he said nervously. This snapped her to her senses and she looked up at him, giving him a smile and a slight wave.

"You too Jack"

He lingered for only a moment more, maintaining eye contact with her before forcing himself to walk out of the room, shutting the door softly behind him. He stood for a moment against the door, shocked, he had no idea what the hell had just happened in there…all he knew was that he didn't really want to leave, yet he'd barely spoken a sentence to her.


	2. And We're Sinking

**AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed =) I really appreciate it, and all of your encouraging comments!! Please keep them coming!! Collage starts for me again next week, so I won't be able to update as frequently I'm aiming for at least 2-3 updates a week, provided I don't have too much work and I don't get writers block! Sorry about the spelling mistake with Shepard last chapter, my spell check automatically switches it to 2 P's! Shouldn't happen again! **

**Also the answers about Jack's wife are coming ;) she is his wife at the moment, they're not engaged or divorced to clear some of the questions up for you. Also Christian never had an affair and has remained faithful to Margo throughout their relationship in this AU.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter Two: And We're Sinking**

Kate left the office around 20 minutes later, file in hand and a spring in her step, she didn't want to admit it to herself, but as she walked back towards the reception area she found her eyes scanning frantically just to catch a glimpse of him….just a glimpse. She sighed to herself resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to see him anytime soon, although she had a feeling that their meeting in the office was only the beginning of things, a notion that she realised was ridiculous. Still a girl couldn't help but dream…even if he was a married man.

She leaned heavily against the railing of the elevator as it went down towards the ground floor, it was fast approaching 4pm, she contemplated whether she should go back to the office or not, she had plenty of drafting materials in her apartment. By the time she reached her car she'd decided it wouldn't hurt to take the rest of the day off and drove the 10 minute distant to her complex.

"Afternoon Frank" she greeted warmly as the doorman opened the door for her; he smiled and nodded in greeting as she made her way to her unit. He was a tall man, about 6ft 1 of average build, quite mature in his age, his hair was balding slightly with wisps of grey streaked throughout it. His wife had recently passed which had been hard on him, he had a kind heart and it made Kate sad to see that the usual youthful sparkle in his eyes had dwindled, his kind face had aged well beyond it's years in the past few months since the accident. Once inside she kicked her heels off appreciatively wiggling her toes to try and gain sensation in them again and padded over to the kitchen placing her grocery bag there.

"Hello!" she cooed when her cat hopped onto the counter, she picked her up and cuddled her as she mewed happily and licked at her face.

"I got you some food, are you hungry" she continued, ok so she was one of those crazy people who talked to her cat like it could understand her, so what? She continued to talk away as she set down some dry food and petted her Russian blue by the name of Eko. She'd picked that name because whenever she spoke to her, Eko would always meow in reply. Kate had decided to buy her just after she'd moved in 4 years ago to stave of the loneliness that came with moving alone to a new city.

Once she had finished petting Eko she made her way over to her work area; are large desk covered with draftsman tools and a thick pad of A3 sized paper. After spending a few moments with her eyes closed just allowing thoughts and ideas to race through her mind she purposefully grabbed a pencil and began to sketch.

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It was an early night for Jack by his standards, he finished his paperwork bang on 8 o'clock. He smiled pleased with his efforts and switched his desk light off, grabbing his briefcase and suit jacket, the door closed with a soft click behind him and he gave a resigned sigh. He could either go home now or head to a bar to delay having to see his wife for a little longer….things were strained between them to put it mildly. Yes, delaying his inevitable return home sounded like an excellent idea, the only problem was the he had to drive himself back somehow so getting drunk enough not to care what they fought about when he did return was out of the question. Still a stiff whisky couldn't hurt he supposed... as long as he didn't end up rip-roaringly drunk... even then he wasn't sure if he'd really care.

Kate had headed out to meet her friend Claire, she was currently working, but Kate was sure she wouldn't mind if she dropped by for a chat. Plus she figured she could use the time to unwind a bit, after working solidly for almost 4 hours finishing 2 finished sketches of the exterior Kate was mentally spent. Claire looked up from where she was cleaning some glasses at the sound of the door being opened, beaming when she recognised the figure of one of her closest friends.

"Hey!" she hollered loud enough for Kate to hear over the buzz of the crowd. Her face immediately lit up and she waved and hurried over.

"Hey! How's it goin?" she asked taking a seat and resting her elbows on the counter in-front of her.

"I'm good, I haven't seen you in a while, did you sort that thing out with Ana?" she asked mirroring Kate's stance. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"No, but I did score the hottest project of a lifetime!" she replied enthusiastically

"Seriously!? What is it?"

"I'm designing a new hospital….with a budget of $500 million dollars" she added trying to hide her excitement. Claire's face lit up as her mouth dropped.

"Holy shit Kate…$500, million dollars…Jesus thats..." she trailed off slack jawed; Kate nodded the magnitude of what this meant for her beginning to sink in…

"Your company charges 8% of the cost right? If you oversee the project too..." she continued breathlessly. Kate nodded, she hadn't done the math, but if her design was approved, she realised that by the end of the project her fee would be somewhere in the region of 40 million dollars.

"I think I need a drink" Kate whispered laughing slightly…Claire immediately retrieved her drink, a vodka and tonic. Kate sat pensive for a moment, she'd been avoiding thinking about this all day, she hadn't become an architect to get rich, she did it because she loved it, though it was hard job sometimes it was what she'd always wanted to do ever since she was a little girl drawing up a house that she thought her family should live in. She smiled slightly at the memory before she was interrupted by Claire.

"Oooooo that's the guy Kate! That's the guy I was talking about!" She exclaimed pointing to a man with downcast eyes walking quickly to a quieter side of the bar, Kate followed her line of vision and laughed shaking her head and taking a large gulp of her drink, she should have known…life and its curve balls, how many times had she come to this bar, and today of all the days he just happens to walk in. A warm feeling settled in her stomach again...

"He's gorgeous isn't he" Claire carried on as they both watched him fiddle with the Napkin in-front of him, he looked….defeated, torn down, it made her ache slightly and she had no idea why.

"That's my bosses Son" Kate spoke the amusement still clear in her voice.

"What! You know him!"

"No…no I Just met him today actually…his names Jack, he must be a doctor at the hospital"

"Kate this is like….totally fate" Claire immediately said, she shook her head and laughed, her friend was so obsessed with horoscopes and…spiritual stuff.

"Sorry to throw a spanner in the works but, he's married" she said, it still made her feel un-comfortable saying it; Claire seemed to contemplate this for a moment before responding.

"He might be married, but he's not happy…happily married men don't go to bars after a long day at work…they go home to their wives for dinner" she spoke matter-of-factly. Kate frowned and finished the last of her drink, when she wanted to be Claire was a very observant person, maybe it was from all the time she spent around people from all walks of life, lord knew you could meet almost anyone in a bar.

"You should go talk to him, he looks lonely" she urged, motioning in his direction.

Kate observed the way he swirled the ice cubes in the glass that had just been place in front of him around solemnly and agreed, he did look lonely, but what if he didn't even remember her? Lord knows she hadn't stopped thinking about him since she last saw him and it was stupid, she had no idea what it was about him….somehow she just felt drawn to him.

"Yeah, yeah I think I will" she said softly smiling and hopping off the barstool, Claire gave her a knowing smile and turned to serve another customer. Kate took a deep breath to calm her nerves before picking up her light jacket and purse and making her way over to him.

Jack sat blissfully unaware of his surroundings loosing himself in the amber depth of liquid in front of him. IF he could make it to 11 she'd already be in bed by the time he got back, he could sleep on the coach and leave before she woke up, pretend he had a late surgery and another the next morning.

"Hey…Jack right?" he heard a tentative voice ask, his heart leapt in his chest, he'd only herd it once but there was no way he'd be able to forget that voice in a hurry. He whipped his head around his face immediately lighting up…

"Hey, Kate" he replied breathlessly, she let out a nervous breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, at least he remembered her, that was a start.

"Hi, can I erm…can I sit down?" came her nervous request.

"Oh, Yeah, of course…sorry" he said grabbing the suit jacket and briefcase he'd shoved on the seat next to him to prevent anyone from sitting there originally he'd planned on spending his time alone but he made an exception in her case.

"Thanks" she said, they sat facing each other, neither of them knowing what to say but smiling none the less... Just soaking up the others presence.

"So…you're the new architect huh?" he asked breaking the silence, he inwardly cringed at how lame that sounded, way to go Jack, she laughed slightly and bit the corner of her lip.

"Yeah…Yeah I guess I am, you work there too I guess? Are you a surgeon?" she asked, he smiled and nodded.

"Spinal Surgeon" she gave an impressed nod...

"Wow, I'm impressed Dr. Jack" she teased, happy when it elicited a laugh from him.

"Dr. Jack? Seriously?" he joked taking another sip from his glass.

"What you don't like it?" she pouted putting on her best sad face "I kind of like it…it has a certain ring to it don't you think?" he laughed again, louder this time.

"Well if you like it, then I guess it must be good right?" she smiled at him brightly as a blush crept up her cheeks, here she was flirting outrageously with a married man, and for some reason it just felt so right.

"Right" she agreed.

"Can I get you a drink" he asked after he finished, she nodded.

"Orange juice please, I'm driving" she elaborated when he raised his eyebrows in question.

"So am I" he smirked, signalling for one of Claire's co-workers to come over. He ordered himself another stiff whisky and Kate's orange juice, she took the glass with a playful smile and blushed when she realised he was staring at her. Jack felt this sudden urge to just know everything about her….he wanted to know what her hopes and dreams were, if this is where she saw herself ending up when she'd started planning her life…

"Tell me about yourself Kate" his tone caught her off guard, it was raw and honest not quite a question but not an order either. She swallowed and blinked a few times, her mouth moving before she could think about what she was agreeing to…

"What do you want to know?" she asked quietly, the air had suddenly become charged, he seemed mildly surprised that she'd just accepted his request so easily, but something told him it was rare for her to be willing to open up like this, so he decided to take his chance and run with it…

"Like, what's your favourite colour? Where did you grow up? What do you do when you're not working?" his eyes searched hers as she smiled slightly and laughed.

"Wow…are you usually this forward?" she joked causing him to blush and laugh nervously, this is what he was afraid of, that he'd scared her off already, he was about to apologize when she answered him.

"My favourite colour is turquoise, I grew up in Iowa…just me and my Dad, mum bailed when I was a kid, When I'm not working….I like to sink" she said simply tilting her head to regard his reaction. He looked….amused.

"Sink?" he asked sceptically she laughed heartily and he found himself un-able to resist the smile already forming from growing so that it covered his entire face, it reached his eyes, it felt like he hadn't smiled so freely in years.

"Yeah, sink…when you stand on the beach and the waves come in they push the sand up over your feet, when they go out they pull it back, and…you sink" she spoke wistfully. He feigned understanding when in reality the significance of "sinking" still eluded him.

"Of course, sinking….how could I forget" he teased and she laughed steering the conversation towards him instead.

"What about you Jack? Do you like to Sink?" her eyes twinkled playfully and he found himself leaning closer to her.

"My favourite colour is blue, I grew up here in LA I was always that kid who was going to follow in his Father's footsteps no matter what…so that's what I did, My mum Margo, she doesn't do much of anything these days just demands that I attend ridiculous numbers of charity dinners" He broke into laugh and shook his head "…and when I have any free time, well, I spend it catching up on sleep" he confessed. She contemplated him, interested in the fact that he didn't spend his free time with his wife, or maybe he was being witty? Something told her he was infact just telling the truth.

"Sleeping, I like your style" she laughed. He joined her and shook his head raising a hand to defend himself in mock outrage…

"Well if you're going to say it like that, maybe we should go sinking and see how much fun that is…" he said slightly sarcastically.

"I'm going to hold you to that" she said seriously, he smiled.

"It's a deal" he said extending his hand, she shook is sternly and they both descended into laughter again.

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Jack made it home by 12:30 he and Kate had spent the entire night sitting at the bar just talking and laughing, getting to know one another, for some reason they just...clicked. They built up this camaraderie so easily, and felt so comfortable around each other. He wondered sadly if things had been different between him and his wife they would have turned out as happy as he'd pictured in his mind or whether it had been a lost cause from the start. In the past 24 hours his life had been turned upside down, Jack wasn't even sure that he cared as long as Kate didn't cut him out any time soon…In fact when he thought about it the crazier it sounded, he hadn't even spent a day with this woman yet she was already creeping into his thoughts, it was stupid that he already considered her a friend?

He pulled his tie off roughly navigating his way towards the living room, the house was completely still and void of any light source, apparently she was asleep, which was a good thing as far as he was concerned, he was in the best mood he'd been in, in weeks, he wasn't ready for that to be taken away from him so quickly.

He sat down on the sofa heaving a hearty sigh of comfort and was just kicking off his shoes when the lampshade flicked on suddenly, he jumped up in shock…

"Jesus Juliet, you scared the crap out of me!" he whispered harshly his heart beating frantically. So much for his good mood, her face remained stony and she addressed him, her voice low and prying.

"Where were you Jack?"

He sighed tiredly and slumped back down onto the sofa, un-tying his shoes as he replied nonchalantly.

"I had a late surgery, I'm tired, I'm not doing this right now" he herd her scoff slightly and looked up long enough to see her shake her head.

"Oh really? I can smell the whisky on you Jack, you wanna tell me where you really were?" she spat dangerously. He sighed again, this was just what she did, she made him feel guilty and she picked the fights…

"No, I don't Juliet, not really…I don't owe you anything right now" he replied matter-of-factly, this seemed to knock the wind from her sails and she employed a new tactic.

"…please Jack, I can't do this anymore, come to bed?" she pleaded quietly, he would have fallen for it…were it not for the fact that she'd slept with her ex-husband in that very bed…In _their_ bed…and he'd walked in on it, come home from a long day at work Chinese in hand ready to make up for all the time he'd been spending at the hospital, and there they were in the throws of passion.

He laughed bitterly.

"It was your mistake Juliet not mine, I'm not taking the blame this time, I am **done** taking the blame for all of the faults in this relationship…whatever's left of it…"

"We have to try Jack! You owe us at least that much" she spoke angrily pointing her finger at him and bracing herself for the death glare she knew she'd receive.

"This IS trying Juliet! In case you hadn't noticed your still in MY house, your still living of MY money…no, right now what I need to do is understand why you went back to Ben" he paused to laugh incredulously at her before continuing "of all the people you pick the ex husband that abused you! You went back to him!" he spat furiously. She paled and stood up a little straighter inflating her chest slightly before blinking back tears and answering him.

"I don't know why Jack…I told you it was a _mistake_" he laughed and shook his head cutting her off.

"That's just not good enough, I'm not coming back to bed until you give me a reason why…and I don't think you'll ever be able to" he spoke truthfully, his voice almost wavering…almost but not quite, if he was honest with himself he hadn't been IN love with her for a long time, he still cared about her, he still remembered every promise he had made her on their wedding day…but none of it meant much at this moment in time. Maybe he was hoping in time it would regain some of its lost meaning…but right now, he couldn't ever see a way back to what they used to have.

"Fine" she ground out, her voice and stance deflated as she walked quickly towards the stairs and up to the bedroom without sparing him another glance.

He sighed and leaned back onto the couch physically and emotionally drained, something had to give.


End file.
